Sponsors (2)
This bill strengthens and accelerates congressional oversight of election systems by creating a well‑defined, empowered select committee that can start work quickly, at the cost of concentrating appointment and procedural power, loosening some ethics/transparency constraints, generating potential costs, and raising the risk of partisan conflict or legal challenges over recommended electoral reforms.
House members and the public get a clearly structured 14-member Select Committee with guaranteed minority consultation and a co-chair, creating defined quorum/representation rules and more predictable committee procedures.
Congress and the public gain stronger oversight capacity because the Select Committee is treated with standing-committee authorities (including recommending subpoenas and depositions), enabling faster, more powerful investigations into election-related matters.
The Committee can begin work immediately using existing House staff and interim funding, reducing startup delays for oversight activities.
Minority party officials and voters could have reduced influence because concentrating appointment power with the Speaker may allow majority leadership to control committee composition despite the consultation requirement.
Federal employees, taxpayers, and the public face reduced ethical and transparency safeguards because the Committee is exempted from some House gift/conflict rules and membership limits, increasing risks of concentrated investigative power and potential conflicts of interest.
State and local governments, plus voters, may face partisan conflict and legal challenges if the Committee's attention to election-system reforms (e.g., proportional representation) provokes litigation or contentious debates, creating uncertainty around elections and possible delays.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Introduced January 7, 2025 by Marie Gluesenkamp Perez · Last progress January 7, 2025
Creates a 14-member House Select Committee on Electoral Reform with two co-chairs (one designated by the Speaker and one by the Minority Leader) to study U.S. congressional election methods, alternatives, and federal barriers to state experimentation. The committee will hold expert hearings, examine specific alternatives (for example, multi-member districts, proportional representation, changing the size of the House, ranked-choice and cumulative voting, fusion voting, open primaries, and independent redistricting commissions), and must deliver a final report with recommendations to Congress and the President within one year of its first meeting. The resolution sets membership, quorum (12 members), meeting rules, a termination timeline (30 days after filing the final report), and limited administrative authorities (use of House staff and eligibility for interim House funding). It bars the Select Committee from exercising legislative jurisdiction or taking direct legislative action and exempts certain House conflict-of-interest and gift rules for this committee while allowing it to recommend subpoenas to standing committees.